Kevin Welner: The Urgent De-Vos-Ing of the Department of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Kevin Welner: The Urgent De-Vos-Ing of the Department of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Kevin Welner: The Urgent De-Vos-Ing of the Department of Education

I recently had the pleasure of reading Kevin Welner’s terrific new Onion-like book, “Potential Grizzlies: Making the Nonsense Bearable.” In tweets, I described Kevin as the Stephen Colbert and Groucho Marx of American education. Kevin and I had fun discussing the book on a Zoom sponsored by the Network for Public Education. (WATCH: Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Kevin Welner). Kevin has pledged all royalties he earns to the Network for Public Education. I hope you will watch, then buy the book, which makes a great holiday gift! To give you a feel for the book, here’s a new piece Kevin just wrote.

Perilous De-DeVos-ing Cleanup Is Underway

The Biden education transition team today assured a worried public that it is carefully following established procedures for the clean-up of the U.S. Department of Education. “The de-DeVos-ing process is indeed grueling, but all necessary precautions are being taken to assure a safe and complete mission,” said spokesperson Darcy Wiggins.

Four years of policy contaminants are reported to have CONTINUE READING: Kevin Welner: The Urgent De-Vos-Ing of the Department of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

ANDRE PERRY: Black students: Don’t let white efforts at miseducation deny your legacy

Black students: Don’t let white efforts at miseducation deny your legacy

 Dear Black students: Don’t let white efforts at miseducation deny your legacy

‘The upholders of white supremacy have always tried to control us by obstructing our path to the schoolhouse through law, propaganda and duplicity. They are doing it again.’

Dear Black students,

The last seven months have presented you with a whirlwind of challenges that undoubtedly disrupted your schooling: The coronavirus pandemic, police killings of unarmed Black people, uprisings for racial justice, Western wildfires and a contentious presidential election in which efforts to disenfranchise voters in Black-majority cities have been bold and deliberate. You have to make sense of misinformation campaigns by politicians who think saying “fake news” will make their lies go away.

With all the distractions and attacks, it may sometimes be difficult to recall our legacy. For generations, we have fought for freedom and freedom’s antecedent, a quality education. Always, the upholders of white supremacy have tried to control us by obstructing our path to the schoolhouse through law, propaganda and duplicity. Now, they are doing it again.

Quoting his owner in his book, Life of an American Slave, the abolitionist Frederick Douglass wrote, “[I]f you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave.” Douglass knew that an undereducated populace will be controlled. What we witnessed during this election was evidence that miseducation doesn’t just allow the continued control of Black people. The 57 percent of white people who cast their ballot for Donald Trump — who has yet to accept the truth and concede the election — represents a white achievement gap that marks a generation unfit for the workforce, college and democracy.

Even if half of America chooses ignorance, we should not. CONTINUE READING: Black students: Don’t let white efforts at miseducation deny your legacy

What Happened to the School in New Orleans That Was First to Desegregate? | Diane Ravitch's blog

What Happened to the School in New Orleans That Was First to Desegregate? | Diane Ravitch's blog

What Happened to the School in New Orleans That Was First to Desegregate?

You may recall the iconic painting of little Ruby Bridges, a first-grader, who was the first African American student to enroll in a previously all-white segregated school in New Orleans. If you don’t, be sure to read this article, which tells what happened to the William Franz Public School.

Three scholars–Connie L. Schaffer, Martha Graham Viator, and Meg White–tell the story. The three are also the co-authors of a book titled: William Frantz Public School: A Story of Race, Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery in New Orleans, which I am reading now and expect to review.

They write:

If that building’s walls could talk, they certainly would tell the well-known story of its desegregation. But those same walls could tell another story, too. That story is about continued racism as well as efforts to dismantle and privatize public education in America over the past six decades.

When little Ruby Bridges enrolled in November 1960, she was escorted by four federal marshalls. Crowds of angry CONTINUE READING: What Happened to the School in New Orleans That Was First to Desegregate? | Diane Ravitch's blog

To Test or Not to Test, That Is the Question | Diane Ravitch's blog

To Test or Not to Test, That Is the Question | Diane Ravitch's blog

To Test or Not to Test, That Is the Question

Everyone seems to have an opinion about whether the mandated federal tests should be administered this spring. When the pandemic was first acknowledged last March, Betsy DeVos offered waivers to states that wanted to suspend the testing. Although Biden has publicly expressed disdain for standardized testing, there has been no hint of whether he will appoint a Secretary of Education with instructions to do as much as DeVos did in deferring the annual testing.

My view: Resumption of standardized testing is completely ridiculous in the midst of a pandemic. The validity of the tests has always been an issue; their validity in the midst of a national crisis will be zero. They will show, even more starkly, that students who are in economically secure families have higher test scores than those who do not. They will show that children in poverty and children with disabilities have suffered disproportionately due to lack of schooling. We already know that. Why put pressure on students and teachers to demonstrate what we already know? At this point, we don’t even know whether all students will have the advantage of in-person instruction by March.

If anything, we need a thorough review of the value, validity, and reliability of annual standardized testing, a practice that is unknown in any high-performing nation in CONTINUE READING: To Test or Not to Test, That Is the Question | Diane Ravitch's blog

Shawgi Tell: Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds | Dissident Voice

Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds | Dissident Voice

Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds

While they have constantly been at it, every now and then charter school advocates self-servingly complain more vociferously than usual about how they are unable to funnel even more public funds from public schools into the hands of narrow private interests.

A quick review of charter school news in recent days shows no fewer than a dozen well-coordinated articles about how privately-operated charter schools are not receiving their “fair share” of public funds and that public schools are getting more money than them and this supposedly puts charter schools “at a disadvantage.” The well-synchronized news articles revolve around a November 2020 “study” from the University of Arkansas, Department of Education Reform, titled: “Charter School Funding: Inequity Surges in the Cities.”¹ Not surprisingly, the Department of Education Reform is funded by the main billionaire supporters of school privatization such as the Walton Foundation. Such “studies” are usually capital-centered disinformation pieces, not rigorous research conducted on the basis of fidelity to the public interest.²

First and foremost, crisis-prone charter schools are privatized education arrangements that operate according to the outdated ideologies of individualism, consumerism, and the “free market.” Charter schools are contract schools, not state agencies like public schools. Charter schools are not public schools in the proper sense of the word. Charter schools and public schools are different entities with different legal, social, historical, and economic profiles and aims. They cannot be equated. It is a misnomer to call CONTINUE READING: Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds | Dissident Voice

CURMUDGUCATION: The False God Data Fails Again

CURMUDGUCATION: The False God Data Fails Again

The False God Data Fails Again

The dream of the Cult of Data is that for any issue, we simply design an instrument for collecting the data, analyze the Data, and select a solution suggested by the Data. Phrases like "data driven" or "data informed" are used to express the assumption that decisions backed by Data are inherently smarter, better, stronger, and wiser than Those Other Kinds of decisions. 

But what if they aren't? What if Data doesn't actually solve anythung?

I've made this point before while writing about the NAEP, the gold standard, America's report card, the test that is supposed to give us data that is clear and clean and objective and allows us to make wise decisions. Except that it doesn't. The Data come out, the arguments follow, and the hard data from the NAEP test settles exactly nothing.

Now here we go again. 

Matt Barnum, my personal favorite Chalkbeat reporter, took a look at a recent gathering of education experts who wanted to look at a simple question- are the gaps in test scores between the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy closing? Seems straightforward, and yet...

No one could answer the question. Or, more precisely, no one could agree on the answer. One researcher claimed the gap was growing, another said it was shrinking, and a third argued that it hadn’t changed much in decades.

It depends. It depends on which Data you look at, which data you trust, which data represents what you think it represents. And as Barnum points out, this is a particularly remarkable question to be stumped by, because the test score gap (aka "the CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: The False God Data Fails Again

NYC Educator: UFT Town Hall November 23, 2020

NYC Educator: UFT Town Hall November 23, 2020

UFT Town Hall November 23, 2020

By special guest Mindy Rosier

 

UFT President Michael Mulgrew % PM

Thank you for coming on. Thank you for all you are doing. I want to use today to explain what we are dealing with. We have a lot to cover. 

I really wanted to do this Town Hall this week because it's Thanksgiving. Be safe, follow advice of the medical professionals.  You all heard about instances of family gatherings and it spreads. 

When we first put our plan together, we also needed a plan in place to reopen. We fought for the cleaning, procedures, small class sizes, ple, we had guidance in place what would happen if the rates go up. 

There was no state plan until Oct. There are 2 different plans and its confusing. The difference is the city doesn't have the legal authority to shut businesses down. The state does. The city threshold was 3%. . The state is always recalculating. There are always two sets of numbers. They calculated things differently.  The state us right now a little lower in the city. A couple of weeks ago they were higher. 

 3 is the mayor's number. The epidemiologist said that was fine, though certain districts can shut the whole city down. 

We should have only plan. The state was closing schools at a very rapid pace in their system. We like it with the colors. Testing ramps up in yellow. Orange is when they start shutting things down and red nothing is working. 

The two plans look ridiculous to the public. Think of where we started. We came up with the plan and we have to follow the plan. The mayor did the right thing to follow this plan. But the state has a better plan. The city didn't want to do it this way. We knew it would be much better that if there was an area that's a problem,that area would close the schools of that area. The people in the schools, they are all doing their jobs keeping the schools safe. But we can't s control the community. We need to all work together. Schools won't stay safe if the rates go up. It is important we have a plan in place, having 2 plans do not make sense. The state did not have a plan before but the state is much more aggressive with testing. As we move thru this, there will be more challenges. Six or seven districts caused the whole system to shut down. The city plan was approved by the state. The state will continue to kove forward with testing and remote if necessary.  

Decisions need to be made to keep a of us safe and our families. These constantly changes, everything gets politicized. Vaccine info is looking good. We are going to see when this goes. When will we open? Everyone is getting very concerned and with traveling for Thanksgiving.  City expects the state to put the whole city in orange. We need to get the CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: UFT Town Hall November 23, 2020

This Giving Tuesday Support NPE - Network For Public Education

This Giving Tuesday Support NPE - Network For Public Education

As giving Tuesday approaches, please give generously to NPE and help us advocate for the public schools that you love.

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In 2020, on our shoestring budget, here is some of what we accomplished.

Important Investigations and Reports

Broken Promises: This report is the first comprehensive examination of charter failure rates from 1999 to 2017. It documents that nearly 1 million schoolchildren were displaced when their charter school shut down. Our Report on Charter Schools’ Double Dip: We exposed how charter schools received both public school CARES Act funding and between $1-$2 billion in Payroll Protection Plan funding intended to save small businesses. Our Survey of Parents, Teachers and School Administrators: We recorded the effects of the transition to remote learning during the pandemic’s early days. That data was used by reporters and was published in The Washington Post Answer Sheet.

We Keep You and the General Public Informed

Conversations with Diane Ravitch: Since the pandemic began, NPE President, Diane Ravitch, has engaged in compelling conversations with researchers and public education advocates from around the nation. NPE in the News: Whether it is an op-ed or a quote, The Network for Public Education has become a “go-to” source for public education advocacy. We have been featured in The Washington Post, the NY Post, The New York Times, the Daily News, EdWeek, NY Magazine, The Progressive, Common Dreams, and other news outlets. We are frequently guests on national and local radio shows. Another Day Another Charter Scandal: Our monthly logging of scandals associated with charter schools has become a source of information for public school advocates and reporters alike.

We Work in Coalitions

The Keep the Promise Webpage: We recently brought together over 70 public education advocacy groups who are united in asking the new Administration to focus on five priorities when it comes to public education. The Grassroots Education Network: We work alongside 155 Grassroots pro-public education advocacy groups in 37 states and nationwide to support their mission and tell their stories.

We Get Policymakers’ Attention

Nearly 70,000 advocates took part in at least one of our actions so far in 2020. They wrote emails and/or called policymaker to advocate for public schools. Twelve thousand contacted Betsy DeVos to tell her to shut down the federal test mandate last spring. Over 15,000 New Yorkers used our action to contact Governor Cuomo to ask him to shut down in-person schooling when the virus began raging last March. We do all of this on a modest budget with one full-time and two part-time employees. Just think of how much more we could do with your support. The struggle continues. The work is not done. Please help NPE make 2021 our most impactful year ever by giving generously this holiday season.

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Thank you for all you do! Carol Burris Executive Director

WHAT’S A LITTLE LAW BREAKING AMONG FRIENDS? – Dad Gone Wild

WHAT’S A LITTLE LAW BREAKING AMONG FRIENDS? – Dad Gone Wild

WHAT’S A LITTLE LAW BREAKING AMONG FRIENDS?

“The future is called ‘perhaps,’ which is the only possible thing to call the future. And the only important thing is not to allow that to scare you.”

― Tennessee Williams, Orpheus Descending

I’ve been struggling this weekend with organizing some thoughts. Thoughts connected through two disparate sources – the release of ACT scores and my reading of Kathy Valentine’s biography.

Valentine, in case you are unfamiliar, is a founding member and bass player of the seminal all-girl rock band The Go-Go’s. While Valentine achieved tremendous success as a musician, early in her life there was little to indicate that she would rise to the pinnacle of success that she did.

She was raised in Texas by a single mother more interested in being a pal than a parent. As a result, she started playing around with sex, drugs, and alcohol at way too early an age. Her friends and she often skipped school to pursue those aforementioned interests. The strange part is, as sobering as her tale his, much of it is entirely familiar. Many of my peers can tell very similar stories about growing up.

At one point Valentine talks about a place right off campus where all the “losers” would gather before school. I think it’s a place most of us are aware of, and many of us frequented it all too often. IA smile escapes when I think back to my own adolescence.

At my high school, it was a pull-off on the main road to school less than 100 yards from campus.CONTINUE READING: WHAT’S A LITTLE LAW BREAKING AMONG FRIENDS? – Dad Gone Wild