Charters grab between $1 to 2 BILLION in small business rescue funds. Act now. - Network For Public Education

Charters grab between $1 to 2 BILLION in small business rescue funds. Act now. - Network For Public Education

Charters grab between $1 to 2 BILLION in small business rescue funds. Act now.

Yes, you read that right. Those are actual quotes from the minutes of Utah Military Academy, which is under investigation for questionable ethical practices. That charter school received between $1 and 2 million dollars in PPP funds. They are not alone. Charter schools’ board minutes tell the same story time and again–we have enough funds, but we will still use our nonprofit status loophole to take Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) funds intended for small businesses devastated by the pandemic.

Read our story in The Washington Post here and then share it on social media.

Our NPE team meticulously scoured the SBA database and identified charters, state by state, that received PPP funds.  The amount that we have identified is staggering. More than 1300 charter schools and their nonprofit or for-profit management companies secured between $925 million and $2.2 billion through the PPP. We provide a range, not from uncertainty but because the SBA chose not to report the exact amounts of the forgivable loans. Even this range is an underestimate. Excluded from our calculations is the sizeable number of PPP loans below $150,000, which the SBA has not disclosed. You can find our state by state list of charter schools and charter management organizations, along with each school’s PPP range on our website here.

How did this happen?

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) informed its members via email in March that it had successfully lobbied for charter schools to receive PPP funds and provided instructions on how such funding could be obtained. The blog that contained the contents of that email has been removed, however, you can find it in the internet archives here. Not only did the amply funded NAPCS encourage its members to apply, but the organization itself received its own PPP forgivable loan in the range of $350,000 and $1 million.

Now it’s time to take action.

Tell Congress to make sure these loans are immediately paid back. Employees of our small businesses desperately need the money. It is time to support our families, not “flush up” the fund balances of charter schools.

Send your email today by clicking here.

Then share our report in The Washington Post with this link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/07/27/charter-schools-their-management-companies-won-least-925-million-federal-coronavirus-funding-data-shows/ 

Charters grab between $1 to 2 BILLION in small business rescue funds. Act now. - Network For Public Education

Mr. G for District 3: Chris Guerrieri's Education Matters: How other schools and districts are doing with the coronavirus, spoiler, not well

Mr. G for District 3: Chris Guerrieri's Education Matters: How other schools and districts are doing with the coronavirus, spoiler, not well

How other schools and districts are doing with the coronavirus, spoiler, not well

It is all anecdotal how other schools and districts are doing at this point, but what is happening is not pretty. Sadly it is probably a predictor of what's to come in Florida schools, and that's also not going to be pretty.

Private school closes after just reopening.

From Bussiness Insider,

A Pre-K-7 private school in North Carolina notified parents that a staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus a few days after it reopened for in-person teaching.

On Thursday, Thales Academy Raleigh told parents that a staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus, The News & Observer reported. The school stated that the staff member had been present at the school for training on Monday and interacted with at least 16 students, according to NBC affiliate WRAL.

The school emailed parents that "the staff member in training was asymptomatic" and "passed the temperature check," according to WRAL. The News & Observer reported that a spokeswoman stated the school would disinfect the classrooms with a Clorox Total 360 machine and resume in-person classes on Friday.

https://www.businessinsider.com/nc-private-school-reports-coronavirus-case-days-after-reopening-2020-7?fbclid=IwAR0PGLzDivFrfPRZvPWviXg828YbMgTMpj9wRlA_95LO0wAnH41bIccgVxQ

700 quarantined and 51 infected in Austin,

Austin's school district is dealing with hundreds of staff members who are being asked to quarantine due to CONTINUE READING: Mr. G for District 3: Chris Guerrieri's Education Matters: How other schools and districts are doing with the coronavirus, spoiler, not well

Heroes Act? Yes. And Budget Justice? Budget Justice? | JD2718

Heroes Act? Yes. And Budget Justice? Budget Justice? | JD2718

Heroes Act? Yes. And Budget Justice? Budget Justice?

Inequality. We know it exists. We, most of us, know it’s not right. But did you know there is a serious push to attack inequality, right here in New York State?

A package of legislation, collectively known as “Budget Justice” is in the State Senate and Assembly. Take a look:

List of Demands:

(1) Pass the Fund Our Future legislative package  to avoid +$10 billion dollars in budget cuts. Package includes:

• Ultra-millionaires Tax (S.8164 / A.10364): Tax increases on those earning above $5 million, $10 million and $100 million per year
• Billionaires Tax (S.8277 / A.10414): Outlaws unjust tax shelters to make billionaires pay income tax
• Pied-a-terre Tax (S.44 / AA.4550): Sliding-scale tax on non-primary residences worth over five million dollars
• Stock Transfer Tax (S.6203 / A.7791): Repeals rebate of .25% state sales tax on stock trades
• Stock Buyback Tax (S.7629 / A.9748): New .5% sales tax on stock buybacks
• Mezzanine Debt / Preferred Equity Tax (S.7231 / A.9041): Fee on mezzanine debt and preferred equity financing equal to mortgage recording tax

(2) Invest new revenue into addressing the systemic and accelerating inequities in our K-12 and Higher Education, Healthcare, Housing, and other Public Services as well as solutions to tackle growing crises like Climate Change and our crumbling Democracy.

(3) Pass the Budget Equity Act to amend Article VII of the New York State Constitution to give the CONTINUE READING: Heroes Act? Yes. And Budget Justice? Budget Justice? | JD2718

Private homeschooling groups — aka "pandemic pods" — gain popularity, but who gets left behind? | Salon.com

Private homeschooling groups — aka "pandemic pods" — gain popularity, but who gets left behind? | Salon.com

Private homeschooling groups — aka "pandemic pods" — gain popularity, but who gets left behind?

"We have all these rules in place so we can make sure that this 'bubble' basically doesn't pop," says one parent

Madeline Gregg knew back in March, after the novel coronavirus was declared a global pandemic, that her 6-year-old daughter Evi probably wouldn't be physically attending first grade this upcoming school year. 

When Evi was 14 months old, she was diagnosed with fanconi anemia, a rare genetic disorder resulting in impaired bone marrow function, which leads to a decrease in the production of all blood cells. For that reason, Gregg said, exposure to the flu is enough to result in Evi's hospitalization. 

"So when school was initially canceled," she said, "it was a no-brainer that she wouldn't be going back to school until the majority of people are vaccinated [for the novel coronavirus]." 

While vaccines can take years to research and develop, according to the New York Times, 27 vaccines for the virus are already in human trials and scientists are "racing to produce a safe and effective vaccine by next year." 

But that leaves many school district leaders, educators and parents, including Gregg, in a position where they have to determine whether in-person education is the right choice for their students — and what the alternatives actually look like. 

In Gregg's case, she contacted the parent of another immunocompromised child from Evi's kindergarten class in Louisville, Ky., to see if they would want to "pod together." 

"And my mom, who is a retired teacher, will be homeschooling the girls three days a week for three hours a day on those days," Gregg said. "So not only will they be able to get out of the house, and have a safe environment, which is my mom's house, where we have all these rules in place so we can make sure that this 'bubble' basically doesn't pop, but they'll be able to see each other and play." 

The concept of "pandemic pods" has garnered a lot of interest over the last several weeks, the idea CONTINUE READING: Private homeschooling groups — aka "pandemic pods" — gain popularity, but who gets left behind? | Salon.com

Laurie Garrett: Most Schools Will Not Be Able to Open | Diane Ravitch's blog

Laurie Garrett: Most Schools Will Not Be Able to Open | Diane Ravitch's blog

Laurie Garrett: Most Schools Will Not Be Able to Open

Laurie Garrett is a Pulitzer Prize winning science writer. This article in Foreign Affairs explains why Trump and DeVos’s demand to reopen the schools for full-time, in-person schooling in a few weeks will fail. The schools don’t have the money to meet the necessary safety requirements. The less affluent the community, the less money is available to reduce class sizes and make the schools safe.

The article makes excellent points and contains a useful summary of research. I urge you to read it.

But be warned: it has the worst, most misleading headline I have ever seen in any article. I don’t hold writers responsible for headlines. I wonder whether the person who wrote it read the article.

The schools are neither a moral nor a medical catastrophe. It would have been more accurate to say that the federal government’s treatment of the schools is a moral and medical catastrophe. After all, we have a president who scoffs at science. Who can trust their CONTINUE READING: Laurie Garrett: Most Schools Will Not Be Able to Open | Diane Ravitch's blog

EdAction in Congress July 26, 2020 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress July 26, 2020 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress July 26, 2020

Clock is ticking, yet McConnell continues to delay COVID-19 response

As the new school year approaches and COVID-19 surges, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and the GOP are hurting students, educators, and communities by keeping parents in limbo and schools scrambling to come up with contingency plans. McConnell refuses to take up the HEROES Act, passed by the House more than two months ago, and still has not come up with a bill of his own. The GOP is in such disarray the legislation could be released piecemeal, as a series of bills—a continuation of the failed, fractured approach that has prevailed when America needs bipartisan, bicameral cooperation to conquer and contain COVID-19.

From what we know, the GOP’s legislation will fall far short of what is needed. McConnell wants to limit spending to $1 trillion (one-third the amount provided by the HEROES Act), scale back stimulus checks, and reduce unemployment benefits. Several provisions strongly opposed by NEA could also be included like linking the receipt of education funding to in-person instruction without regard for safety, voucher schemes or set-aside programs that fund private schools at the expense of public schools, and waiving liability for providing safe teaching and learning conditions.

The GOP’s legislation will not include the $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments that is part of the HEROES Act—crucial if we are to avoid layoffs of educators, resume in-person instruction safely, and provide meaningful online instruction. If the economic damage from COVID-19 goes unchecked, nearly 2 million educators—one-fifth of the workforce—could lose their jobs over the next three years. These job losses would profoundly impact the 50 million students who attend public schools, their families, and communities—especially low-income students whose schools rely on Title I funding to lower class sizes, hire specialists, and offer a rich curriculum.

“Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has done absolutely nothing but stall the HEROES Act, go on a prolonged summer vacation, and squander critical time to safely and equitably reopen school buildings. And now he seems set on introducing a partisan bill that he knows won’t even pass in the Senate where he controls a majority,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia.

To help reopen schools and campuses safely, NEA is urging Congress to provide at least $175 billion to stabilize education funding, directed funding for personal protective equipment (PPE), at least $4 billion to equip students with hot spots and devices to help narrow the digital divide and close the homework gap, relief for student loan borrowers, and more. TAKE ACTION 

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Comments due July 31 on DeVos rule that robs schools of resources

There’s still time to weigh in on a new rule from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that is diverting COVID-19 relief funding from high-poverty public schools to private schools, contrary to congressional intent. As a lawsuit filed by the NAACP says, “The Rule is as immoral as it is illegal. In a moment of crisis—when public school districts are called upon to educate their students in unprecedented circumstances, to protect their students and staff from disease, and to feed families who have been plunged into poverty, all with decimated state and local revenues—it is unconscionable for [DeVos] to siphon away the CARES Act’s desperately needed funds for the benefit of more affluent private-school students.”

The CARES Act explicitly requires districts to provide private schools with services in the “same manner” as Title I, which uses the number of low-income students in each school to allocate funds. Under the new DeVos rule, districts may instead base allocations on the total private school population—a change that could rob under-resourced public schools of hundreds of millions of dollars. In Michigan, for example, private schools would get four times as much—$21.6 million instead of the $5.1 million worth of services the Title I funding formula would provide, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. TAKE ACTION

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Cheers and Jeers

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)introduced an amendment to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act to improve accountability and transparency in the 1033 program, which transfers surplus military equipment to local law enforcement. Even though a majority of senators voted YES, the amendment was not adopted—under Senate rules, it needed 60 votes.

Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) introduced the ESP Family Leave Act to ensure the education support professionals who keep schools running effectively for our children can access leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) gave floor speeches urging support for a bill to strengthen the Defense Production Act—which could be used to require production of personal protective equipment—and called for unanimous consent to pass it.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) opposed the bill to strengthen the Defense Production Act, dashing hopes of passing it by unanimous consent.

Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the School Choice Now Act, which would create a voucher program that provides federal tax credits for private school tuition and home schooling expenses.

EdAction in Congress July 26, 2020 - Education Votes

Preview SFUSD's plans for students and families this fall 2020 - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

Preview SFUSD's plans for students and families this fall 2020 - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

Preview SFUSD’s plans for students and families this fall 2020

Commissioners and staff have been listening to with families, and students and educators with educators to create an improved learning experience for students this fall and more support and communication with families. Below are several places you can find information about our upcoming meeting.

Joint Select Committee – July 24, 2020

Last Friday I attended a Joint Select Committee Meeting with city officials on the Board of Supervisors and SF City College. We were joined by staff from the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF).

We all have so many questions about health safety, and education and the fall. I’m sharing this video from last Friday’s SF Joint Select Committee where San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education Commissioners, City College Trustees, and City Supervisors.

Topics discussed in the SFUSD portion of the meeting include: 

• Health and safety challenges in opening schools related to cleaning transportation and staffing, 
• Information on how SFUSD has gathered input to inform improvements in distance learning this fall along with changes to state requirements, and
• Creative ideas about how we might leverage outdoor space in our schools and possibly adjacent parks. 

With so much to discuss, it was a long meeting worth watching with three other presentations on the agenda. Areas of interest for SFUSD parents covered later in the meeting include:

• City College and questions regarding the potential of exploring the expansion of concurrent enrollment, 
• Commissioner questions of the SF Department of Public Health, and CONTINUE READING: Preview SFUSD's plans for students and families this fall 2020 - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution & The Covid Economic Reset – Wrench in the Gears

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution & The Covid Economic Reset – Wrench in the Gears

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution & The Covid Economic Reset

In mid-May 2020,  Jason Bosch, documentary filmmaker and activist from Denver, came to Philadelphia to pick my brain about the things I’ve been researching for the past five years. He’s in the process of editing that footage into a series of videos covering  issues related to racialized technology, global finance, the Covid lockdowns, digital identity, and the rise of human capital data markets.

Below are the first two installments in this series. A lot of this is ground I have covered in previous posts, but I sense the conversational nature of this exchange may make some of this information more approachable.

Very grateful to Jason for sharing his talents. Phone videos can only take you so far.

Part One

Part Two

Share this:

Introduction to the Fourth Industrial Revolution & The Covid Economic Reset – Wrench in the Gears

Indiana: A Profile in Courage | Diane Ravitch's blog

Indiana: A Profile in Courage | Diane Ravitch's blog

Indiana: A Profile in Courage

Steve Hinnefeld writes here about a rare act of courage in a red state. Indiana State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick defied Betsy DeVos and has refused to hand out money from the CARES Act to private schools, without regard to need.

Superintendent McCormick told DeVos to stuff it. For her courage and independence, she goes on the blog’s honor roll.

Hinnefeld writes:

The good news: In Indiana, at least, public school districts won’t need to worry about Betsy DeVos diverting their anticipated funding to private schools.

DeVos, the U.S. secretary of education, may still succeed in her scheme to use the act to boost funding for even the wealthiest private schools. But the Indiana Department of Education will make up any funds that are lost to public schools.

“The CARES Act was intended to assist those most in need …,” Indiana Superintendent of Public Education Jennifer McCormick told school officials. “COVID-19 has CONTINUE READING: Indiana: A Profile in Courage | Diane Ravitch's blog

Trump Thinks He Can Win Votes by Stressing School Choice and Fast Reopening | Diane Ravitch's blog

Trump Thinks He Can Win Votes by Stressing School Choice and Fast Reopening | Diane Ravitch's blog

Trump Thinks He Can Win Votes by Stressing School Choice and Fast Reopening

The Washington Post says that Trump has latched on to school choice and a fast reopening as issues that will win back white suburban women, whose support for him has faded.

This may indicate how out of touch he is. Parents move to the suburbs because their property wealth creates good schools. There is no unmet demand in the suburbs for vouchers or charter schools.

Furthermore polls clearly show that parents want their children to return to safe schools. They do not want their children to go to full-time in-person instruction without safeguards in place.

Trump is unaware that vouchers are not popular, that they have lost every state referendum by large margins.

But Republicans won’t let school choice go, even though only a tiny percentage of parents choose to leave public schools, even when choice is easy and free.

The Post writes:

President Trump sees two school issues as key to reelection, and after paying almost no attention to CONTINUE READING: Trump Thinks He Can Win Votes by Stressing School Choice and Fast Reopening | Diane Ravitch's blog

NYC Educator: The Hybrid Model--Essential Work or Political Hackery?

NYC Educator: The Hybrid Model--Essential Work or Political Hackery?

The Hybrid Model--Essential Work or Political Hackery?

I’m vain. I think my subject, English as a new language, is the most important my students have. As such, I want them to understand structure. Teaching grammar, though, bores my kids to death. I have to find a better way.

One of the things that makes me crazy its the use of the present tense. When one of my students says, “She go to the store,” it makes me want to jump out a window. I’ll feign a heart attack or something to draw attention to my displeasure. I look for novel ways to practice this structure. One activity is a game that replicates an old TV show called What’s My Line. Students pretend to have one job or another, and we practice asking questions to figure out what it is.

Do you work in an office?
Do you need any special diplomas?
Do you work outside?

These are all good questions. I point out others that might guide their yes/ not questions toward an educated guess:

Who works in an office?
Who needs a diploma?

There’s one question I get that I object to, though.

Is your job important?

Grammar isn’t everything. I try to show students that all jobs are important. When I was their age, I worked as a dishwasher. I don’t know about you, but I find it pretty CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: The Hybrid Model--Essential Work or Political Hackery?

glen brown: This Teacher Asks You to Just Please Give Her a Minute by Sera Deo

glen brown: This Teacher Asks You to Just Please Give Her a Minute by Sera Deo

This Teacher Asks You to Just Please Give Her a Minute by Sera Deo

“Give us a minute.

“I spent today removing my personal belongings from my classroom. I’m not alone. This is being required in many districts right now. Chairs. Pillows. Lamps. Bookcases. Books. Nothing but desks and chairs remained. I left my empty classroom and cried all the way home.

“Give us a minute.

“Before you say that parents need to be able to work. That parents need a plan. That parents aren’t teachers. Remember. Most parents aren’t teachers, but most teachers ARE parents. We want what’s best for your kids and OUR kids, too. We are in this together.

“Give us a minute.

“Before you spew your negative personal experience with virtual learning from the spring. Think. Do you have any idea how hard we worked to make it the best it could possibly be? Do you have any idea how it feels to read your words?

“Give us a minute.

“Before you rattle off your ideas about what will work in the fall. Understand. For every idea you have, we know a student and a family who CONTINUE READING: glen brown: This Teacher Asks You to Just Please Give Her a Minute by Sera Deo

George Thomas: An Old Dead White Guy who could use a Statue | JD2718

George Thomas: An Old Dead White Guy who could use a Statue | JD2718

George Thomas: An Old Dead White Guy who could use a Statue

(This is not my usual entry – it’s a bit about a little-known Civil War General – if it’s not your thing, no worries – I’ll be back with regular writing tomorrow. – jd)

I’m all for tearing down confederate statues. I’m all for taking their names off of buildings and bridges and schools? Who the hell put their names on schools?  Slaveholders, racists, subject them to scrutiny, and I’m good with the same treatment if that’s where the discussion goes. And I’m cool with replacing them with abolitionists and revolutionaries, but I’m much cooler replacing them with abstract themes and groups of people – statues of enslaved people freeing themselves, workers on strike, native people refusing to vacate their land. Or how about Emancipation High School, Liberation Federal Building?

History is not a series of names of old famous dead white men, or a series of names of old famous people. Especially in the last century, but I claim further, history is made when the people in the middle or the people at the bottom, nameless, faceless, forgotten, when the majority have had enough, or when the masses move to change things. Wars are won by infantry, not generals. We remember the sweet words of the leaders, but nothing happens with just words – movements of people make change, make history.

But, in a contrary thought, I want to talk about a neglected dead old white guy – George Thomas. Let me make the case – if there’s an old dead white guy we should build even one monument to, it should be him.

Not making the case – Thomas’ early career

George Thomas was from Virginia. His family owned other people. He went to West Point. He fought in the Seminole War in Florida, where the US tried to forcibly remove native people from Florida. He fought in the war against Mexico (and in fact served alongside of Braxton Bragg, whose name CONTINUE READING: George Thomas: An Old Dead White Guy who could use a Statue | JD2718