Schools Matter: The Siege of Philadelphia Public Schools

Schools Matter: The Siege of Philadelphia Public Schools:

The Siege of Philadelphia Public Schools

by Ken Derstine @ Defend Public Education!

“Whenever I see the school and the ruins, I wanna break into tears,” wrote Jacob Rodriguez, 17, who attended Fairhill from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Kiara Villegas, 15, wrote on the wall: “They closed our school, for what reason though?”

Pencil statements of students from the closed Fairhill School in North Philadelphia in an art exhibit about the closing of 31 public schools in 2012.

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“Fernando Gallard, a spokesman for the school district, said, “We completely understand the feelings of the students and their community that something that was part of their community was closed.” He said Fairhill was chosen for closure because it was low-performing and was in poor physical condition.”

Art Show Captures the Wrenching Effects of Closing a School
The New York Times – August 28, 2015

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Unlike New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where a natural disaster was turned into a man-made disaster to advance a neoliberal privatization agenda, Philadelphia public schools have been undergoing a completely manmade disaster since the state takeover of the School District in 2001.

Contrary to the claim of school district officials, the 24 schools closed in 2013 were not closed due to “declining enrollment”. The schools were losing students due to a starve the public schools, feed the charters policy that began with the state takeover in 2001 and has accelerated since 2008. This was a deliberate policy promoted by a series of administrators from The Broad Foundation, and by ALEC-affiliated legislators in the Pennsylvania capitol of Harrisburg.

School District spokesman Gallard’s statement that schools were closed because they were “in poor physical condition” is Schools Matter: The Siege of Philadelphia Public Schools:

Letter: New York Superintendent DOES NOT CARE about VAM | deutsch29

Letter: New York Superintendent DOES NOT CARE about VAM | deutsch29:

Letter: New York Superintendent DOES NOT CARE about VAM

Michael Hynes is the superintendent of the Patchogue-Medford School District in New York.

He knows that attempting to gauge teacher value via the state’s $2.7 million, nonsensical, secretive value-added modeling (VAM) scheme is foolish.

Below is his August 28, 2015, letter to a teacher in the Patchogue-Medford district.

Here is what Hynes writes:

August 28, 2015

Dear Ms. —,

The purpose of this letter is to let you know that I DO NOT CARE what your state growth score is.  Let me be clear… I DO NOT CARE. It does not define you. Please know that I understand that nobody likes to be reduced to a number.

The fact is, you are much more than a number, not only to me, but most important to the children and parents you serve. Keep your head up and your eye on what is most important… your students and your teaching craft. The Patchogue-Medford School district fully supports you as an educator, regardless of what this meaningless, invalid and inhumane score states. Let me know what you need and it is my sincere hope Letter: New York Superintendent DOES NOT CARE about VAM | deutsch29:

CURMUDGUCATION: Report on Systematic Crushing of Local Control

CURMUDGUCATION: Report on Systematic Crushing of Local Control:

Report on Systematic Crushing of Local Control

The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools is a broad network of  groups standing up for local and community schools, linking everything from the two national teacher unions to parent and community groups. AROS this month released a report looking at the issues surrounding the privatization of local schools and the stripping of local control. "Out of Control" is worth a read, particularly as it puts the newest reformster development in context.

In the introduction, AROS reminds us that this month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, and notes that the act has been under attack as recently as the 2013 Supremes decision. But that's not the main focus of the report.

But there is a different attack on minority enfranchisement not addressed in the Voting Rights Act. Instead of barriers to the ballot box, local elected governance is being dissolved altogether.

The local governance that's being dissolved is the local elected oversight of schools, and AROS notes that these state-level take-overs of local schools "are happening almost exclusively in African American and Latino schools and districts—in many of the same communities that have experienced decades of underinvestment in their public schools and consistent attacks on their property, agency and self-determination."

The report looks at some specific instances of this sort of take-over and disenfranchisement, but CURMUDGUCATION: Report on Systematic Crushing of Local Control:

What’s the Organizing Force of #EdReform? | educarenow

What’s the Organizing Force of #EdReform? | educarenow:

What’s the Organizing Force of #EdReform? 

Truthout has an excellent new article on the role that the “Non Profit Industrial Complex” has played in the rise of charter schools, and in the demise of community agency. Robert Skeels, the author of The Nonprofit Industrial Complex’s Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education, rightly points out that as most charter schools are managed by either private corporations or non-profits, they are actually private schools. As such, they represent a loss to the commons of the local. Here Skeels touches on the implications:

“It is important to use the phrase ‘privately managed charters’ because the deep pocketed charter advocacy NPICs continually bombard the public with the mendacious phrase ‘public charter schools.’ By definition if a charter is run by a non-profit, then it is not public. The United States Census Bureau frames this issue best: ‘A few “public charter schools” are run by public universities and municipalities. However, most charter schools are run by private nonprofit What’s the Organizing Force of #EdReform? | educarenow:

It took hunting to find L.A. school board meeting on superintendent hunt - LA Times

It took hunting to find L.A. school board meeting on superintendent hunt - LA Times:

It took hunting to find L.A. school board meeting on superintendent hunt

Los Angeles school officials have promised a “transparent” search for the next superintendent of schools, but got that process off to a murky start by the listing of a faulty address for a Sunday morning board meeting.

The business of the day was to discuss the desired qualities in a superintendent and how to go about finding one. That discussion was set up to occur in private. Then, in a later public portion of the meeting, the board was scheduled to vote on a search firm to locate candidates for the top job. 

Board President Steve Zimmer envisioned the Sunday gathering as a retreat, but under state law, a gathering of a board majority has to be treated as a meeting that must convene and conclude in public.



The listed address for the meeting, at the Point Fermin Outdoor Education Center in San Pedro, took visitors to a district-owned complex that includes a mammal-viewing area. But the Board of Education was not to be found there—nor were there instructions on how to locate them from that point.

Board members had migrated up the hill, a winding drive away, to a location that they apparently were familiar with--so neither they nor other district staff members spotted the issue with the address. Two members of the public and two reporters found the actual location of the meeting, which was marked with a green sheet of paper on a fence and a small poster on a stand.



As it turned out, the number of school police officers—at least four—outnumbered the members of the public with sufficient interest and perseverance.

Five firms submitted proposals to lead the search: La Quinta-based Leadership Associates; Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Associates of Carmel; Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates of Rosemont, Ill.; McPherson & Jacobson of Omaha; and Ray & Associates of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The firm would be paid up to $250,000 plus expenses.



The first board member to arrive Sunday morning was Richard Vladovic, but all arrived before the scheduled 10 a.m. start time, according to district spokeswoman Barbara Jones. Supt. Ramon C. Cortines It took hunting to find L.A. school board meeting on superintendent hunt - LA Times:

Karen Magee: Drawing Meaning From The Meaningless | WAMC

Karen Magee: Drawing Meaning From The Meaningless | WAMC:

Karen Magee: Drawing Meaning From The Meaningless

Big Education Ape: Noam Chomsky on the Dangers of Standardized Testing | Creative by Nature http://bit.ly/1Eu7u5W

Earlier this month, the State Education Department released student scores on state standardized tests. Yet, most of the media coverage centered on the 220,000 students who opted out of those tests.

Talk about poetic justice.

The real story, indeed, is how this parent-led movement is forcing policy-makers and the Legislature to revisit — and, hopefully reverse — harmful ‘test and punish’ educational policies. Whether the scores went up or down, parents understand the state tests results are virtually meaningless.

In many cases, the tests themselves were poorly written and not age or developmentally appropriate. In fact, the testing company — Pearson — did such a bad job designing these tests, the State Education Department recently fired them.

Parents also understand they get no useful information from these tests. Student scores are sent home near the end of the school year — too late to be of any use to teachers and without the critical information that parents — and teachers — need so they can use the data to better help students in the classroom.

And, parents understand that state tests are not being used properly. Good, fair tests can be used to measure what students know and are able to do, and help teachers see where students are succeeding and where they may need additional support or instruction. The state tests in English Language Arts, also known as E-L-A, and Math don’t do that, and they were never designed to measure teachers or to trigger sanctions against school districts. In fact, a growing body of research is showing that student test scores cannot be used reliably or accurately to measure teacher performance.

So, if there is a message at all in this recent kerfuffle over opt out and testing, it is this: Parents are smart. They do their homework. And, they put their children’s best interests first. If the state wants to re-gain the confidence and trust of parents, and have them again “opt in” on testing… it must have constructive assessment policies that work for students, parents and educators. When 20 percent of students — 32 percent outside New York City — refuse to take state-required tests, that’s a strong message.

The state needs better, more accurate and more reliable student assessments in E-L-A and Math. Those tests should be designed with the full participation of New Karen Magee: Drawing Meaning From The Meaningless | WAMC:

Newark teachers demand Cerf “reverse the evil” of “One Newark” and privatization | Bob Braun's Ledger

Newark teachers demand Cerf “reverse the evil” of “One Newark” and privatization | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Newark teachers demand Cerf “reverse the evil” of “One Newark” and privatization

(Bob Braun’s Ledger presents the text of a statement read by John Abeigon, NTU president, and directed to state-appointed superintendent Christopher Cerf at the last school board meeting.)

Respect is earned, not received just because someone wishes it so. Returning local control is not your sole responsibility here. Returning to this city a school district that is 80 percent privatized and 20 percent ruins is unacceptable and we will do everything in our power to stop you if that is your intention. (We have at this time every reason to believe that it is). As the last state-appointed superintendent of Newark’s public schools, you have plenty of work to do here restoring the traditional schools that the now discredited Cami Anderson abandoned for three years.

We have had enough “reform” to last us a lifetime—look at the shambles your predecessor left. And, if you cannot see it, or feel that you have a different opinion or narrative of what we’re seeing, then perhaps you’re not the right person for the job and you should resign immediately. And take Vanessa Rodriguez with you.*

Your predecessor left a wake of failed policy, fiscal ruin, and failed reform. So much so that the word “reform” shall be forever repugnant to true educators and synonymous with unveiled attempts by privatizers to wrestle control from public education.

The now discredited Cami came and spoke about site-based budgeting and principal autonomy—all of that was reform mumbo-jumbo. Budgets are not site based, nor are they designed to provide education to children. The Rafael Hernandez School, given last year to a novice, well-intentioned principal, is still short-staffed, few resources are available and training is nonexistent. The future of those children in NPS** hands is as dead as the cemetery that faces the school.

For all her talk of teacher empowerment, teacher-this and teacher-that, Lafayette Street School is still ruled by a megalomaniac. A vote of no confidence to have her Newark teachers demand Cerf “reverse the evil” of “One Newark” and privatization | Bob Braun's Ledger:

The gnashing of many teeth accompanied warning about the consequences of low participation in standardized tests | OregonLive.com

Low-income students awaiting Kate Brown's leadership: Editorial Agenda 2015 | OregonLive.com:

Low-income students awaiting Kate Brown's leadership: Editorial Agenda 2015

The gnashing of many teeth accompanied last week's announcement that about $400 million in "kicker" revenue will be returned to taxpayers next year. The frustration responsible for so much dental damage is perfectly justified, as the public would be better served by locking the money away in a fund to be tapped for essential services – primarily public schools – in the event of an economic downturn. Still, while we're all for a good kicker kicking, the frenzy highlighted how little energy has been devoted in Salem to protecting a sum nearly as large.

That sum, $344 million, figures prominently in an Aug. 17 email by Oregon schools chiefSalam Noor, who warns about the consequences of low participation in standardized tests given to students across the state. Sent to superintendents and principals, the email notes that statewide participation on Smarter Balanced exams last year barely cleared the 95-percent threshold required by the U.S. Department of Education. Meanwhile, overall participation in nearly two dozen districts fell below the threshold, leaving Noor "deeply concerned ... for a number of reasons." Among these: "Oregon schools risk losing $344 million in federal funds if our participation drops too low."

Because testing also generates valuable data about what students know, Noor writes, a continued "drop in participation will limit our ability to identify and address achievement and opportunity gaps for our students in poverty, students of color, and students with disabilities."

Given the dollars and data at risk, and the disproportionate benefit of both to disadvantaged students, you'd think participation in Smarter Balanced exams would be universally accepted, if not necessarily loved. It is not, and heading Oregon's anti-Smarter Balanced crusade is the state's largest teachers union, the Oregon Education Association, which has cheered on the "opt-out" movement – Portland Association of Teachers president Gwen Sullivan memorably likened testing to child abuse - and even pushed for legislation that will make opting out easier to do. Standardized test results, you see, soon will become one component of teacher evaluations.

A recent edition of the union publication "Today's OEA" speaks glowingly of opt-out efforts in "regional pockets across Oregon." These include three districts on the list of 21 Smarter Balanced participation laggards released by the state Department of Education last week in response to a request by the Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board. Those three are Eugene, Portland and wealthy Lake Oswego, where about half of the test-eligible juniors at Lake Oswego High School refused to take the test, torpedoing the district's overall rate. Opting out of Smarter Balanced tests last year may have struck those Lake Oswego High juniors as a principled gesture, but the spread of such principles throughout the state will have consequences. One of these is the potential diminution of federal funding, including Title I funds – 40 percent of the sum Noor mentioned - which flow to the state's poorest schools. Lake Oswego High School is not one of these, but two of the district's schools – Oak Creek Elementary and River Grove Elementary – are, according to district Superintendent Heather Beck.  

Noor is right to worry about plummeting participation. The Legislature this year approved a union-backed bill that will make opting out of the Smarter Balanced tests even easier. Districts now will all but invite students to do so. Noor gamely urges districts to fight this rigged battle by communicating with "parents and communities about the purpose and value of these tests ... (to) help them understand the impact of opting out." Thus have lawmakers, prodded by the teachers' union, reduced districts to pleading with families to take exams that are critical to the state's academic mission.

Surely, we can do better than this. Doing better, however, will require leadership from Gov. Kate Brown, whose words on standardized testing have been remarkably at odds with her actions. In June, Brown preached about "the need for accurate data across all student subgroups to evaluate student outcomes and make improvements at the student and system levels." Participation in testing, she argued, "is crucial for success" while diminishing student participation will increase the "risk (of) losing federal dollars, especially for students who have been traditionally underserved." These words, ironically, come from a statement that accompanied Brown's signing of the union-backed opt-out legislation.

Further muddying the question of Brown's loyalty is her selection of Lindsey Capps, a former teachers' union official, to serve as her education adviser. Next month, Capps will become the interim successor of retiring Chief Education Officer Nancy Golden.  

The message that Smarter Balanced participation is crucial must come from Oregon's governor, forcefully and frequently. Words, however, aren't enough. There's no better way for Brown to send the necessary message – and demonstrate herself worthy of the office she's inherited – than by pushing the Legislature – hard – to repeal the opt-out bill that undermines the very values she professes.Low-income students awaiting Kate Brown's leadership: Editorial Agenda 2015 | OregonLive.com: