Grassroots Education Network- October 2020 Newsletter - Network For Public Education

Grassroots Education Network- October 2020 Newsletter - Network For Public Education

Grassroots Education Network- October 2020 Newsletter

The NPE Grassroots Education Network is a network of over 155 grassroots organizations nationwide who have joined together to preserve, promote, improve, and strengthen our public schools. If you know of a group that would like to join this powerful network, please go here to sign on. 

If you have any questions about the NPE Grassroots Education Network please contact Marla Kilfoyle, NPE Grassroots Education Network Liaison at marlakilfoyle@networkforpubliceducation.org

Notes from Marla

As I type our newsletters each month, I notice consistent themes in organizing.  One theme that never seems to go away is how organizations in the network work together.  In this newsletter, you will see how state organizations work together for events and actions. For example, Schools and Communities United, Parents for Public Schools Milwaukee, and Wisconsin Public Education Network sponsored a Grab and Go Giveaway to show public school support this month. The Pastors network hosted a virtual luncheon with NPE President Diane Ravitch this month. Pastors for Florida Children and the Florida Council of Churches collaborated on a great new source for Pastors and Houses of Worship called Why Should Christians Care About Public Education, written by Angel Pittman and edited by Rachel Gunter Shapard. You can read it here. Virginia Educators United and Virginia BATs released a petition this month about the reopening of schools in VA. The petition strongly urges lawmakers to change course and delay consideration of openings to the end of the second quarter, after the winter holidays at the earliest. Class Size Matters, NY Allies for Public Education, and the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy are working together this month to survey parents about which online apps or programs are being employed by schools throughout New York state and whether they are sufficiently protective of children’s privacy. 

Through the many newsletters I have written, I see this consistent theme of connection and organizing, which is always a recipe for success. So, as you read this newsletter, and subsequent newsletters, look for other organizations you can connect with.  Many of the organizations have specific strengths, resources, or people that can help.  If you need a connection, send me an email, and I will connect you.  Most of all, know that you are part of a network with so many resources, people, and strength to help you when you need it.  

National Organizing

Network for Public Education President Diane Ravitch spoke to an education class this month at Acadia Senior College in Maine.  NPE Executive Director Carol Burris appeared on The Rick Smith Show late last month talking about the rate of charter failures in our CONTINUE READING: Grassroots Education Network- October 2020 Newsletter - Network For Public Education

Prospects for COVID-19 Stimulus Package Fade: Will We Have to Wait for A New President and New Congress to Negotiate Relief for States and Their Public Schools? | janresseger

Prospects for COVID-19 Stimulus Package Fade: Will We Have to Wait for A New President and New Congress to Negotiate Relief for States and Their Public Schools? | janresseger

Prospects for COVID-19 Stimulus Package Fade: Will We Have to Wait for A New President and New Congress to Negotiate Relief for States and Their Public Schools?

Negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House negotiator Steve Mnuchin and Senate Republicans for a second coronavirus relief bill have collapsed until at least after the election—maybe until a new Congress convenes in 2021 and, perhaps, a new President takes over.  Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell has declared that the U.S. Senate will not even be back in session until November 9.

Of immediate urgency is essential assistance for individuals and small businesses now that most of the programs funded by last March’s CARES Act have run out—the one-time $1,200 stimulus checks, the small business paycheck protection program, pandemic emergency unemployment benefits, an eviction moratorium, and support for health coverage. But there is another critically important need—one that is slightly farther removed from families’ immediate crisis.

Through months of negotiations, the two sides could never reach any agreement on one of Nancy Pelosi’s top priorities and something essential for the nation’s over 13,000 local public school districts: significant relief for state and local governments. State funding averages 40 percent of all public school funding, with local funds comprising around 40 percent.  President Donald Trump and some Republican  Senators opposed what Trump called “a bailout for poorly managed ‘blue’ states.”  While Trump and so-called “deficit hawk” Republican Senators have politicized the issue, here is how—last April—Rutgers University education funding expert, Bruce Baker, and Albert Shanker Institute policy expert, Matthew Di Carlo defined the urgent need for relief for state and local governments: “The most terrible and lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic will of course be measured in loss of life. But a parallel tragedy will also be unfolding in the coming months and years, this one affecting those at the beginning of their lives: an unprecedented school funding crisis that threatens to disadvantage a generation of children. It currently is difficult to make any precise predictions about the magnitude of the economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, except CONTINUE READING: Prospects for COVID-19 Stimulus Package Fade: Will We Have to Wait for A New President and New Congress to Negotiate Relief for States and Their Public Schools? | janresseger

$420K in Grants Donated to Digital DIvide Fund - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

$420K in Grants Donated to Digital DIvide Fund - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces $420,000 in Grants to the Bridging the Digital Divide Fund to Benefit Students in Southern California

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced that Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), in partnership with the San Diego Foundation, have donated a total of $420,000 to the Bridging the Digital Divide Fund. SDG&E and the San Diego Foundation’s grant of $100,000 to the Classroom of the Future Foundation will address the digital divide among tribal K–12 youth in San Diego County. SoCalGas’ portion of $320,000 will be split into five grants to separate organizations in Southern California for specific work to close the digital divide. SoCalGas and SDG&E are part of the Sempra Energy family of companies.

This contribution to the Bridging the Digital Divide Fund, established by the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation (CDE Foundation), supports the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Closing the Digital Divide Task Force. The COVID-19 pandemic forced an estimated 97 percent of California’s 6.2 million students to begin their school year in distance learning. The task force has been working since April on behalf of California’s most vulnerable students and families who continue to experience barriers to internet access and distance learning.

“This is a difficult time for all of us, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated access issues to technology, placing additional strain and stress on some of our most underserved populations who still lack the basic tools to connect to their learning,” said Thurmond. “Through my Closing the Digital Divide Task Force, formed to secure devices and reduced-cost internet service, I have asked 100 of California’s top companies to step up and help close this gap. I commend SDG&E and SoCalGas for answering that call and for their investment toward lifting up every child, an example I hope others will follow.”

“Both of our companies have a long history of supporting school and community programs that help underserved children overcome barriers to success. Now more than ever, our schools, teachers, and students need us to step up to help fill the gaps so no child is left behind, especially during this challenging time,” said Eugene “Mitch” Mitchell, vice president of state governmental affairs and external affairs for SDG&E and SoCalGas.

The $100,000 Classroom of the Future grant was made through the San Diego Foundation’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund, which SDG&E seeded. SDG&E has contributed $2.5 million to the fund and has plans to donate another $500,000 in early 2021. The grant will address the digital divide among tribal K–12 youth in San Diego County by providing laptops and mobile hotspots. According to Classroom of the Future Foundation and the San Diego County Office of Education, there are more than 350 tribal students across several San Diego County school districts who are unable to fully participate in distance learning because they lack computers and/or internet connectivity.

SoCalGas’ $320,000 in total grants will benefit five local organizations to help meet specific needs: Southeast Community Development Corporation will provide students from South Los Angeles with a Chromebook, earbuds, hotspots, and tutoring. STEAM Coders will provide STEAM programming to more than 1,100 K–12 students enrolled in four schools located in Los Angeles, Inglewood, and Claremont and will provide 140 high-grade laptops with 120 hotspots. Southern California Indian Center will supply 100 laptops and hotspots to low-income Native American children throughout Los Angeles County and Orange County. YMCA Greater Metropolitan Los Angeles will purchase equipment to extend their wi-fi access to the outside of each of their 26 branches. Community Coalition (South Los Angeles) will sponsor laptops, hotspots, and Microsoft Office for students in Los Angeles Unified School District.

Since April, the State Superintendent and his task force—in collaboration with the Governor’s Office, state lawmakers, and nonprofits such as the CDE Foundation—have been working to remove inequitable barriers to student access by working with internet service providers, tech companies, device manufacturers, and other groups to increase access to devices and internet connections.

The CDE and the task force have since partnered with a few major technology companies and internet service providers to put together programs to make it easier for schools to acquire necessary equipment and services for their students. Local educational agencies (LEAs) are encouraged to start the process now as devices are in high demand across the country. LEA staff can view more information at the CDE Securing Devices and Connectivity for Students web page.

At the same time, the Governor’s Office and lawmakers included $5.3 billion in one-time funding in the state budget for schools to strengthen distance learning heading into the same year. These funds can be used immediately for purchasing needed technology, and more information can be found on the CDE’s Learning Loss Mitigation Funding web page.

Read more about the CDE Foundation Bridging the Digital Divide Fund.

# # # #

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

$420K in Grants Donated to Digital DIvide Fund - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Fund Education Instead

Fund Education Instead

Fund Education Instead

Big money for pro-charter school board candidates, picks George Gascón for DA – Los Angeles Education Examiner

Big money for pro-charter school board candidates, picks George Gascón for DA – Los Angeles Education Examiner

Big money for pro-charter school board candidates, picks George Gascón for DA

Los Angeles’ school district used to have sleepy school board races. But those low budget, pedestrian races – like that for LA County’s District Attorney – are bygones. Between the SCOTUS Citizens United ruling codifying limitless lobbying and independent campaign support, and the ascendency of “school choice” as a stalking horse for privatization of the public sector within the education arena, LAUSD’s school boardroom has become a surrogate battlefield for neoliberalism, public-private partnerships and the leveraging of public goods for private gain.

So, too, it would seem might the race for LAC’s District Attorney (LAC-DA) signal a new incursion on privatization in criminal justice.

And given such a grand ideological tussle, it is little wonder that formerly obscure school board elections of local and narrow interest should have become worth astonishing amounts of money to a select few with special interest in (eg, profit, systemic change, ROI extracted from) the political insurgency. Such an influx could concern underlying motivations surrounding next Tuesday’s LAC-DA race.

An explosion of this trend was marked in 2013, when the mayor of New York City 3000 miles away, saw fit to drop one million dollars over the metaphorical backyard fences and literal mailboxes of west LA in order to influence a school board race so very, very far away, and seemingly removed, from him. But in retrospect it is clear that the Education sector provides a goldrush of opportunity for privateers. And the shock and awe of CONTINUE READING: Big money for pro-charter school board candidates, picks George Gascón for DA – Los Angeles Education Examiner

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

A VERY BUSY DAY
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...
The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/10/saturday-october-17-2020-this-week-in.html

October’s (2020) Useful Parent Engagement Resources – Part Two | Engaging Parents In School… - https://engagingparentsinschool.edublogs.org/?p=6384

Here Are My “Best” Lists On Responding To Student Trauma

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

geralt / Pixabay I have over 2,100 frequently revised and updated “Best” lists on just about every subject imaginable, and you can find them listed three different ways in three different places (see Three Accessible Ways To Search For & Find My “Best” Lists ). I’m starting to publish a series where each day I will highlight the “Best” lists in a separate category. Today, it’s on Responding To St

Two Useful Resources To Use In A Discussion About Grading

20by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay Our school district had a good idea this year about improving grading by eliminating zeros and pegging undone student work at 50%. However, as our district is prone to do, they didn’t involve teachers in the actual discussing and decision-making process and just announced it. So, schools like ours are hustling to initiate a discussion on it so that there is “buy-in”

My Favorite Posts That Appeared In October

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see older Best Posts of the Month at Websites Of The Month (more recent lists can be found here ). You can also see my all-time favorites here . I’ve also been doing “A Look Back” series reviewing old favorite

Fun Video For ELLs: “What if animals were round?”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

AnnaliseArt / Pixabay This would be a fun video to show to English Language Learners and have them talk and write about what they saw… I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Beginner ELLs Learn About Animals .

Friday’s Must-Read Articles & Must-Watch Videos About School Reopening

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

mohamed_hassan / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : What school looks like now — in striking pictures from around the world is from The Washington Post. Research Video News Brief: Projecting the Potential Impact of COVID-19 School Closures on Academic Achievement is from The American Education Research Association. Educators Wante

New Resources On Race & Racism

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

I’m adding these new resources to various “Best” lists. You can find links to all of those many lists that relate to race and racism at “Best” Lists Of The Week: Resources For Teaching & Learning About Race & Racism: Hundreds Of 

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007